Drapery Rod Wired Wall Sconce

Drapery Rod Wired Wall Sconce

Please note: This tutorial requires some electrical work so please hire a professional to do this if you are NOT comfortable with basic electrical wiring.

I followed Isabelle LaRue’s steps on engineeryourspace.com on how to make a wall lamp/ sconce, but instead of hanging mine with command strips or on a wall panel, I chose to run the wires through a decorative rod and allow the rest of the cord to hide behind the sideboard.

Base behind shade: This photo shows 4 pieces because I worked on 2 drapery rod wired wall sconce at the same time.

Cut a piece of 3/4″ plywood 4″ x 10″

Using a router, cut a groove 1/2″ deep x 1/2″ wide in the top piece. Out of this piece, cut 1 piece 3 7/8″ x 4 3/4″ for bottom piece and another piece 4″ x 4 7/8″ for top Use a piece of 1 1/2″ moullion moulding to finish the edge of the top piece only.

Completed Top base

Cut groves in the moulding to line up with the groves in your top piece with a jig saw or hand saw and stain or paint it in your preferred color. To your left is the photo of the base of the drapery rod wired wall sconce you are creating for the rod to sit comfortably in and the back of the shade to rest on.

Dowel base behind rod

Dowel base Prep

Dowel base preparation

Using the 3/4″ stubby spade bit drill a hole on the side of a 2 1/2″ long piece of 1″ diameter dowel about 3/4″ from the end. Using a smaller drill bit, drill a hole at the center of the top. This hole is where you will be screwing in your dowel screw. Drill a second hole about 1/2″ from it, deep enough to reach into the bigger hole in the side you drilled earlier.

Completed bottom dowel base

This hole should be big enough for the cord of the base socket to pass through. Sand, stain or paint in your preferred color.

To your left is the photo of the bottom dowel base of the drapery rod wired wall sconce you are creating for the rod to pass through comfortably and rest.

Rod Preparation:

Prepare rod and screw into top piece of base

The decorative rod has a smaller rod inserted into the bigger rod. I put the narrower rod to the top and the bigger to the bottom. Using a hack saw, cut 5″ off the narrower rod. Drill a hole 12″ from the top (don’t include finial) of the narrower rod for the cord to enter in from the top. Drill a hole 1 1/2″ from bottom (don’t include finial) of the bigger rod for the cord to come out of. Insert the narrower rod into the bigger rod and adjust it to the length you want it to finish. Mine was 44″. Use some tape to hold both parts of the rod together where they meet and drill a hole 2″ above the intersection to pass through only one side of both rods when inserted. You will use this hole to keep both parts of the rod together securely using s screw. I used the screw that came with the rod bracket.

Place the narrower rod into the cut groove of the top part of the base with finial at about 6″ from the edge and using 2 screws, screw it into place.

I measured 62 1/2″ from the floor. This is where the top of the finial of the rod will end and the bottom of my rod was right in line with the top of my buffet.

The entire length of the drapery rod wired wall sconce from finial to finial is 44″

Installation.

Prepare rod and insert philips screw into bottom part of top base

Screw bottom part of top base to wall

I measured 50″ from the floor and after inserting two of the 1/4″-20 x 2 1/2″ flat head Philips machine screws into the bottom piece (3/4″ plywood 3 7/8″ x 4 3/4″) side by side about 2″ apart, I attached this piece of wood to the wall.

Using a screw driver, remove the switch from the base socket electrical cord, put it aside for later use and cut the cord at this point.

Insert base socket into back aluminum part of sconce

Insert the light socket into the aluminum back part of sconce. Pass the end of the cord through the drilled hole of the narrower rod and using the piece of coat hanger and or string with safety pin on other end, pull the cord through the rod.

You should have about 1 1/2″ to 2″ of the cord outside of the rod once the cord is pulled through the rod.

Screw rod and top base

I then drilled two holes in the finished top piece (3/4″ plywood 4″ x 4 7/8″) to line up with the screws in the bottom piece. Drill the same holes in the aluminum piece of the sconce and using the wing nuts, attach the aluminum piece of the sconce with the top part of the rod to the bottom of the top base already attached to the wall. This completes the top half of the drapery rod wired wall sconce

Screw in dowel screw and pass cord thru

Screw dowel into wall

For he bottom half, screw in the dowel screw into your pre drilled hole in the center of your dowel base and take the other part of the cord and pass it through the small hole in the dowel to come out of the larger hole in the dowel.

Screw dowel into the wall in line with the top completed part of the rod.

Feed the cord thru the bottom part of rod

Reconnect wires after inserting rod into dowel

Pull the cord through the center of dowel to top and feed the cord through the bottom part of the rod through the hole you drilled in the bottom of the rod. Insert the rod into the hole in the dowel and reconnect your wires. Put the narrower rod into the bigger rod and line up the holes you had previously drilled. Screw the two rods together through this hole to connect both rods securely together.

Put the switch below dowel base

Completed installation

Rewire the switch you removed earlier by putting it directly under the base dowel and screw in the finial.

Slide the shade onto the aluminum piece at top and secure it. Insert bulb and installation is complete for your drapery rod wired wall sconce.